Like Never Before
by Shadowed Replica
Summary: No one could ever help her before; now a stranger has saved her from death. Perhaps she can return the favor by helping him save his world. Dark times lie ahead for both and their growing relationship will be challenged by everyone and thing around them..
1. Journey of a Lifetime

**Like Never Before**

Chapter I: Journey of a Lifetime

_By Shadowed Replica_

**Disclaimer:** I unfortunately do not own Trunks Breifs or any other character in the DBZ series. So I no claim and you no sue!  
I do, however, own Rikku Li and her father who I have not given a name to.

* * *

A tiny, fragile-looking girl walked along the forest path with a smile on her face. She loved to waltz around the forest and discover all its secrets and hide-a-ways. She mostly enjoyed the way the breeze ruffled her long chestnut-brown hair that she had high-lighted with blond and red herself. Her silver eyes reflected back at her from the small pond as she peered into it. In her reflection she could see the small black rabbit-looking creature. It had tiny black wings and flat black ears that were oddly pointed with silver tips. Its eyes were silver with a matching silver mark shaped like a crescent moon upon its forehead.

"Come now Rin, look at the sky. I think it's time we go back home before dad gets angry again." She patted the little fur ball lightly on the head as it cooed lightly in her ear. A fat rain drop fell from the sky and landed on her cheek. She wiped it off and blinked lightly before staring up into the sky at something. A pair of icy blue eyes were staring down at her from the dark sky and she became transfixed.

Rin made a little noise and nudged her tanned neck with his cold pink nose to startle her back into reality. She turned and looked at her little friend for a moment before glancing back up to the sky to see the eyes gone. She shook her head and then took off down the path. "Oh no Rin, if I'm late again Dad's going to be furious!" She picked up her feet and began to run as the sky opened up and let the rain pour down.

The path through the woods turned into mud and she slipped a couple times on her way back home. She saw the tip of her home through the trees and began to sprint to the house. She reached it just as the door was beginning to close.

She zipped in through the door jam just as it slammed shut. Little Rin hid in her shoulder-length hair. She smiled up at a large man with dark, beady eyes and a cruel face.

"Rikku, you're late, again." He snarls fiercely.

Rikku gulps slightly and takes a step back. "B-but I was in before you shut the door!"

A yelp sounded from her mouth as her father grabbed her arm in a brutal grasp and threw her bodily across the room. She crashed into the wall and groaned as she tried to stand. A kick to her abdomen knocked her down once more. "You should have been in before I started to close the door!" He growled as he grabbed Rikku by the hair and yanked her up.

A cry of pain was wrenched from her throat as her head snapped back. "I'm sorry; it won't happen again I promise!" She cried as he threw her to the floor once more.

"Sorry? I'll give you sorry you ungrateful little brat!" He kicked her once more and sent her sprawling to the ground. She didn't utter a sound for fear of a worse punishment. "You'll rue the day you defied me."

"I haven't defied you yet you asshole!" Rikku screamed suddenly. She jumped up and threw a hard punch to his gut. She turned quickly and tried to escape up the stairs.

But he was too quick for her and caught her ankle and hurled her down the stairs. With a swift kick to her shoulder he sent her rolling into another wall. "You'll learn your place whelp or you'll disappear just like all the others did!" He laughed before grabbing her but her throat. He began to choke her as he backed her to the edge of the basement stairs. "Perhaps a few days in the dark without food or water will do you a bit of good." He laughed and chucked her limp form into the darkness of the basement.

Rikku cried out in pain with each step she hit until she hit the bottom with a sickening thud. The basement door slammed shut and a loud click resounded as he locked and bolted the door shut.

Little Rin darted out from Rikku's bloodied and dirt-filled hair and rubbed his nose. He them scrambled over to an unconscious Rikku and began to lick at her face earnestly. But she wouldn't wake so he just sat guard upon her chest and whined softly until he fell asleep.

The next morning, light poured in from the window and cast a shadow over the stationary form of Rikku's body. Rin was awake and once more began to lick at her face. After an hour or so, Rikku stirred and groaned as she awoke. She coughed up some blood and spat it onto the grimy floor.

"Good morning to you too Rin," she muttered with a dry and hoarse voice. "Is it that bad?" She asked the tiny creature.

Rin purred and nuzzled her neck before scurrying over to the window and rubbing his body against the warm window. Rikku blinked at the bright sunlight and tried to move her aching limbs. After what seemed like hours, she could finally rise into a sitting position. The little black ball of fur was by her side again and nudged her arm as if urging her to move.

Rikku looked at Rin and watched him scamper towards the window once more. He looked out the window and then to her before nudging the window with his nose. She blinked and tried her luck at standing. On the second try she managed to not fall to the ground and stumbled slightly as she moved towards the window. She looked at Rin and ruffled his fur, "Rin you're brilliant." She laughed as she pressed with all her might against the window.

After a couple of times pushing against the window it creaked open. Rikku froze and listened to hear if her dad was around. When she didn't hear a sound she pushed once more and took in a deep breath of fresh air.

She looked around for something she could use to hoist herself up some when she heard the creaking of the floor boards above her. Her eyes widened and she darted to the steps where she had previously been lying. She resumed her prostrate position and closed her eyes just as the basement door opened and light flickered in on her form.

Her father sneered and tossed down a moldy piece of bread and a half-empty bottle of water. The door then slammed shut and the bolt resumed its rest in the holder. Rikku waited until she could hear his footsteps leaving.

When she was sure it was safe, she cracked an eye open and looked at the bread and water. She broke off a small piece that didn't have any mold and fed it to Rin. She opened the water and drank most of it before letting Rin drink the rest. "I think we're going to have to wait until its dark and he's sleeping to make our great escape."

(Somewhere in a different place in a different time)

A young, muscular man stands on the edge of a cliff; his arms crossed across his chest. Even as a storm rages around him and tosses his lavender hair about wildly, he stands motionless and stares into the distance. His icy blue eyes burned with an unknown emotion.

He finally turned from his spot and flew off back towards the city. He made one last sweep across the city, searching for survivors, before he flew off back towards home. When he finally reached the crumbling white building he called home he set down right in front of the door and opened it.

As he stepped in he was greeted by a kind-looking older woman in a dirty gray uniform with the words _Capsule Corp._ printed on the side. Dirt and grime covered her pretty face and she wiped the sweat from her brow with her hand which held a wrench. "Trunks, you're back late. I was getting worried about you." She said as she enveloped him in an embrace.

"Sorry mom," He said returning the hug and then turning away from her. He looked out the window and sighed as he watched the rain pelt the ground furiously.

"Find anyone?" The woman asked hopefully though she knew the answer.

Trunks shook his head sadly and then walked into the kitchen. "Not a single person. No sign of 17 or 18 either; though I suppose that's a good thing." He crossed his arms and glared angrily out the window in the kitchen.

The blue-haired woman with bright blue eyes put a hand on his broad shoulder. "Don't worry Trunks, they're out there. If anyone survived you'll find them." She said reassuringly.

He nodded and turned towards the hallway and began to walk to his room. "I don't know mom, I really don't know."

As her son disappeared, she sighed and shook her head. As she wiped the grime from her hands with a dish rag she looked at a picture on the counter. It was of a younger version of herself, a baby with a tuft of lavender hair, and a man with a scowl upon his face. She smiled as remembered those days fondly. "Oh Vegeta, why did you have to die? Why couldn't you let go of your pride?" She asked softly as a single tear drop leaked from her eyes and fell upon the man's face. It had been almost seventeen years since he and the rest of the Z fighters had died in battle against the androids 17, 18, and Cell.

With a sigh she set the picture back in its place and walked to her own room to take a shower and go to bed. She only wished her son could have met his father and seen what a truly great man he was.

(During the night of our first setting)

Rikku listened intently as the creaking of the stairs finally dissipated and the sound of a door slamming echoed throughout the house. She waited a few more moments before quietly stealing over to the window. She stacked a table and a footstool atop each other and stood on them to reach the window easier.

She eased it open and slid her body through the small opening. It was a good thing she was so thin. She was finally able to pull herself free of the window and looked around for Rin. He nipped her neck affectionately to alert her to his presence. She smirked at him and took off into the woods without looking back at the eerie house.

She stumbled about for an hour until she tripped over a root in the darkness and landed face first in a pit of mud. She spit it out and coughed. "That's so not cool," she grumbled and plucked little Rin from the mud. She wiped him off on her overly-large, raggedy, torn, and worn-out hoodie.

He sneezed and she kissed his head before allowing him to scamper up her arm and onto her shoulder once more. "Now, where to genius?" She asked her little friend. A thick rain drop hit her square in the face and she shook her head. "Great, it's raining," sure enough the sky opened up and it began to pour.

Suddenly the bushes behind her rustled violently and Rikku stopped in her tracks. She kept still and listened for a moment to discern what exactly was there. When no more movement sounded from the shrubbery, she made a move to walk forward.

Before she could take one step she was hit from behind by something that sent her sprawling into the underbrush. She looked up quickly to see what hit her; her blood ran cold.

Her father was looming over her body with a sneer on his face, "What's the matter my dear? You actually thought you could escape me?-how wonderfully pathetic." He sneered at her as he reached for her.

Rikku moved out of his grasp quickly, grabbed Rin and plopped him upon her shoulder once more, and took off into the darkness. "Okay Rin, now where do we go?" She huffed as she jumped over a snapped tree trunk. She could her father's footsteps closing in close behind her.

"You can run as far as you want wench but you cannot hide from me." He laughed as he chased her, "Come back to me now and I'll make sure you're not awake to feel your punishment."

She scoffed, "Screw you, I'll take my chances!" She continued to run as fast as she could and turned quickly to try and throw him off her trail; it didn't work.

He snarled loud enough for her to hear and picked up the speed. She turned once more and he followed easily, "You're making this way too easy girl. You'll tire eventually and then I'll make you rue the day you were born."

"Sorry, somebody beat you to it," She called over her shoulder when suddenly she had to stop because she reached a cliff, "Shit!" She turned right and just barely missed his grasp as she began to run along the edge of the cliff towards the waterfall.

Rin nudged her neck and jumped off her shoulder and took off in front of her. Rikku put on a burst of speed when his laughter echoed close behind her and followed the little black creature. "C'mon Rin, help me out here." She whispered as it continued to run towards the waterfall.

Her father hissed in anger and continued his pace after Rikku, "You can run but you can't hide from me bitch."

Suddenly Rin dove off the cliff and Rikku came to a sudden stop. She saw her father smirk evilly and then looked down to a plummeting Rin. She took a breath and jumped after the creature just as he reached out to grab her.

His fingers closed brutally around her forearm and he tried to yank her back. But her weight was already free-falling down to the water and it pulled him with her. He yelled as they fell.

When they hit the water he lost his grasp as he disappeared beneath the surface. Rikku's head came up a moment later gasping for air as she looked wildly about. Rin made a noise and she saw him standing on a ledge behind the waterfall.

Just as Rikku tried to swim to the ledge something grabbed her foot and pulled her under. Her eyes opened and she saw her father glaring as he swam up with her ankle in his iron grip. She kicked at his hand and crushed his fingers against her ankle with her foot. He let go and she kicked as fast as she could to reach the surface and Rin at the same time.

They both broke surface at the same time but he was a ways away from her. He began to swim after her and snarled when she reached the ledge and pulled herself from the water.

Rin then darted into a well-hidden cave behind the waterfall and waited for Rikku to follow. When she did he continued to run into the darkness. Rikku could hear her father's footsteps and didn't hesitate to chase after Rin.

It seemed she was running forever and growing tired when suddenly there was a light at the end of the tunnel-like cave. She paused a moment and gazed up at the large hole in the cave in awe.

The hole was more like a vertical shimmering pool of a white liquid substance. It glimmered and glittered prettily. Rin keened at her and ran towards it.

Suddenly loud footsteps echoed behind them and snapped Rikku out of her reverie. She walked over to the pool. Rin touched his nose to it and looked up at Rikku. She placed a hand into the substance and yelped in surprise; it was freezing!

Her father's heaving breathing sounded behind her and she looked over with a gasp. He smirked and began to walk slowly, menacingly towards her.

Rikku looked down at Rin who wasn't there anymore; he was gone! She looked to the pool and then back at her father. She took one step back and then dove head first into the glowing substance.

(Back to that far distant time and place)

Rikku landed in a heap on the ground and groaned, "Okay, that really hurt." She said as she moved to stand and fell to the ground in pain. "Damn," she cried as her hands automatically went to her swollen ankle. There was a large bruise forming around the ankle bone and she couldn't put any weight on it.

Rin was beside her once again and licked her neck apologetically. Then he nipped her and began to growl and hiss. "What is it?" She asked as she turned to look behind her. Her eyes went wide and she struggled to her feet and began to hop away.

A dark chuckle sounded behind her, "You really thought you could get away from me you little whore?" He hissed in joy as she hobbled towards the open field, "I told you, you couldn't hide from me; and now look, you can't even run."

Rikku tried desperately to get away but she put weight upon her hurt ankle and cried out in pain as she fell to the ground. Tears blurred her vision and she wiped at them angrily.

A hand reached out and grabbed her bruised and swollen ankle in a brutal grip; she screamed bloody murder and cried out in pain. His hand clenched harder until she was crying from the pain.

Her uninjured foot connected painfully with his jaw as she kicked out at him. He was sent reeling backwards and she tried to move away. Slowly but surely she gained distance until he was up again and rush at her.

His foot connected with her stomach as he kicked her into the open field. Her face landed in the mud and she rolled out of it and coughed. The rain mingled with the tears on her face and cleaned her face from the dirt and grime.

"This time, no one can help you. You're a sad pathetic little girl and you're going to die that way." He snarled as he stomped on her bad ankle.

She bit her lip and right through to keep from screaming while tears leaked out of her closed eyes. He grabbed her hair and lifted her up painfully though she made no sound. He glared at her and gave a solid punch to the stomach. She tried to catch herself and landed on her good foot but she lost her balance and fell on her butt.

He came at her again and back-handed her face so that she was sent sprawling to the ground. When he came close for another hit, her foot swept out and knocked his feet from him and then she tried to kick him away from her. But he grabbed her ankle and tugged her towards him. Her fingers dug into the ground to find purchase but it was all mud and she was pulled easily towards him.

His fist connected with her jaw a couple times before she kicked him off again and sat up. She began to scoot away from him; ignoring the pain in her good ankle. "Help, somebody, please help me!" She screamed as she tried to get away from him.

(Hovering somewhere high above)

Trunks glanced down at the dragon radar once again and gave a frustrated sigh. He knew there was a dragon ball around here somewhere but he couldn't figure out where. Suddenly he heard somebody scream. He stuffed the radar into his pocket and flew towards the noise while looking down at the trees. Had the androids found another victim? If so, why were they all the way out in the forest?

He paused over the trees and waited to hear for another cry before he was to continue.

(Down below in the clearing)

"I warned you to behave but you just couldn't listen to me. Now you're going to be punished severely." Her father snarled in madness.

Rikku screamed as his hand snatched her swollen ankle and pulled her to him. He grabbed her collar and yanked her up to his face and punched her in the stomach. She coughed violently as she weakly tried to pry his hands from her shirt. "Where is your tongue my dear? Surely you'd love to give me a lashing and tell me how cruel I am? No? Well then let me finish this then while you try to think of something."

His fist came back and launched at her face. Her eyes closed in defeat and she turned her face from the blow. She waited for a moment but the hit never came. She was suddenly dropped painfully to the ground and a cry of pain erupted in front of her.

Her eyes snapped open and her head jerked up to see her father cradling a gnarled hand in his other hand. She blinked as the rain drops obscured her vision and wiped her face.

"Why don't you learn to pick on someone your own size?" A new and unfamiliar voice growled. Rikku's eyes roamed over to the other man. He was fairly tall and very muscular. He had lavender hair that hung a little past his ears and icy blue eyes that were narrowed at her father.

Her father snarled angrily at the guy, "Why don't you mind your own business boy and run along home." He growled and began to walk towards Rikku once again. She rolled away from him and tried to get on her knees to get away when she heard her father cry out in pain once more.

"I said leave her alone, or don't you understand me?" The guy was now standing in between Rikku and her father. His fist was clenched and she could tell he just punched her father.

He staggered slightly and glared at Rikku. "Get up bitch and come here right now or I swear this time I'll make sure to kill you."

Out of ritual Rikku moved to get up and stood on one wobbly ankle. She used the tree to steady herself and glared at her father. "Go to hell you bastard."

Rikku limped towards him and then jumped at him. Her fist connected with the side of his face. She didn't stop there; her right fist caught him in the stomache as she brought her bad leg up and gave him a round house kick to the face. "I'm not weak, you are!" She screamed.

She watched as his body flew backwards; lifeless. He hit the ground and rolled a few times before stopping at the edge of a cliff.

He finally pushed himself up to his elbows and glared at her. "You're weak, you can't even finish me off." He taunted her and chuckled.

She screamed in anger as she ran towards him. The pain in her ankle was gone momentarily as she charged him down. He was beginning to stand up again and smirked at her. "I'll kill you!"

Her father blinked in surprise as her body began to glow a bright white. "Die!"

A bright white enveloped her body and the surrounding area. Suddenly the light vanished and only two people were left in the clearing; a man with lavender hair and a young woman lying in a field.

Trunks walks over to the young woman and picks her up in his arms bridal style and then flying off.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this little fanfiction I created. It was hard to decide what kind of plot would work best.

Please be kind and review my story! I appreciate constructive criticism and words of praise; I ignore flames.

Thank you for reading, I hope you continue to read and review my story.


	2. Start of Something New

**Like Never Before**

Chapter I: Start of Something New

_By Shadowed Replica_

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I unfortunately do not own Trunks Breifs or any other character in the DBZ series. So I no claim and you no sue!  
I do, however, own Rikku Li and her father who I have not given a name to.

* * *

A restless Rikku rolled to and fro. Her body was sweating heavily though her skin was deathly cold to the touch. Small whimpers left her mouth as her head was tossed about and her damp hair clung to her face. For several hours she remained as thus.

Trunks opened his eyes wearily and then looked down at her. He sighed and tugged the covers free from her body so she could move easier. He looked down at the bowl of-now-lukewarm water. He rung the water from the towel once more and dabbed at her forehead and neck. With that he took the bowl and cloth to the bathroom and dumped the water. He then refilled the bowl with icy cold water and dipped the cloth into it. When he re-entered the room, he dropped the bowl. It shattered on the ground and water splashed everywhere. The cloth found its resting place beside the pieces of pottery as the door beside him burst open.

"Trunks, what is it?" His mother asked him worriedly. When he didn't reply she looked to the now-empty bed and gasped. Her eyes trailed up to the open window and she darted to her son's side and shook him out of his reverie, "Find her before she gets hurt!"

The lavender-haired man nodded to her and took off out of the window and began his search. He cursed himself for leaving her alone. He also cursed himself for not hearing her movement; he would know not to underestimate her ever again.

(A little ways away from Capsule Corp.)

Wet hair clung to her face as she ran through the rubble around her. 'What happened here?' She asked herself as she turned down another alley-way. Her ankle was still very sore but she could finally put weight on it. She wondered if it had been a good idea leaving the room she was in. But the prospect of being caught by anyone worse than her father or him in general was something she wasn't willing to accept.

She wiped the water from her eyes as the wind whipped wildly at her face and clothes. For a moment she stopped to catch her breath and glanced down at her attire; she grimaced. Her black shorts were torn in several places and her large over-shirt was gone and she had nothing but a black spaghetti strap top and her undergarments on. She didn't even have shoes anymore.

Suddenly she realized that Rin wasn't with her anymore and began to shout, "Rin, Rin where are you?" She stumbled over a pile of rock and steel and gasped in pain. She winced and then blinked in surprise. Her hand reached out to grasp a singed teddy-bear that was missing an eye and an ear. She felt tears well up in her eyes and clutched the bear to her chest. This place was filled with so much pain and sorrow and grief; it clawed at Rikku's heart.

She stood up, the bear still clasped in her fist and she began to walk now. She noticed all the destruction around her and gasped. She felt so lonely all of a sudden and looked around. She began to walk run again; searching for anyone or anything to keep her preoccupied.

Her eyes scanned over all the ruined homes and buildings. She also saw blood spattered several places. Signs of stores and restaurants were mangled and blown down around the street. Glass shards were scattered everywhere and Rikku had to be careful not to step on any with her bare feet.

She reached the heart of the city and sighed before sitting down on the curb. The bear was clutched tightly to her chest as a few tears leaked out. She thought about where she had woken up and wondered if she should have run away or not; she'd been bandaged up and they were taking care of her. Suddenly a whimpering sound reached Rikku's ears and her head snapped up to look around. She dropped the bear as she leapt to her feet in anxiousness.

The bear lay forgotten in the middle of the road as she limped over towards the sound. She saw a woman and a little girl huddled in a corner; they were shivering in the cold. Rikku walked over to them and kneeled beside the woman and touched her arm gently. The woman started in surprise but calmed immediately; there were tears in her eyes.

"What happened here?" Rikku asked incredulously. The woman blinked at her before screaming and pointing behind her. "What? What's the matter, what?" Rikku turned and gasped as a ball of glowing light raced towards them. She acted quickly and grabbed the woman by her clothing and pushed her out of the way. The ball skimmed her stomach and she cried out in pain as she fell to her knees.

"My, my, my, what have we here?" A cold, metallic voice chuckled.

Rikku's head snapped up quickly to glance at the source. Two people stood not ten meters from her. One was a woman with chin-length blond hair and cold, calculating blue eyes; she had on the weirdest outfit. The other was a man with matching cruel, blue eyes and chin-length black hair. They both had a distinguishing red ribbon around their arms with the initials RR printed on it. "Who are you," Rikku growled in suspicion.

The woman laughed cruelly and took a menacing step towards Rikku; but the man held an arm out in front of her. "Wait a moment 18; it would be rude not to answer her question." He was smirking in a vindictive manner.

The one called 18 glared at him, "Why must you always do this 17? Let me kill her now; I'm growing tired of this place!" The woman whined and crossed her arms.

"Fine," The man sighed and crossed his arms, "I was going to torture her a little bit but since you're so _bored_ we can kill her now." His hand opened and faced palm-out towards you, "Say goodnight mortal."

Rikku's eyes went wide as a familiar glowing ball of light began to form in his palm. Instead of waiting to find out what he planned on doing with it she booked. She jumped over a pile of rubble, just barely missing the ball, and was sent sprawling from the explosion. She landed about twenty meters from the spot she was originally in and coughed.

The man, 17 as the woman called him, was beside her instantly and smirked down at her. "I see you're going to be fun after all." He laughed sinisterly before kicking Rikku hard in the stomach and sending her flying into a wall.

Her body broke right through the unsupported structure and continued to fly until she hit another cement wall. When she landed on the ground she coughed up blood and slowly tried to stand. Before she could even get to her knees though, 17 was there and kicked her arm out from under her and she face planted on the ground.

"Come on girl, get up." He chuckled as he watched her struggle to her knees and glare at him. As she used the wall to stand his hand reached out and grabbed her throat causing her to cry out in pain. He smirked and lifted her up off the ground, "Now, beg for mercy and I might just end it quickly." He lied, he'd never let anyone get off that easily.

But Rikku simply glared at him and spit a mouthful of blood on his face. "I'd sooner cut out my own tongue," a bloody cough interrupted her momentarily, "than beg for mercy from the likes of you."

His eyes narrowed in anger as his fingers began to close around her throat in a painful grip. "Why you stupid little-"

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size Android 17, better yet, why don't you pick on me?" A familiar voice rang out from behind the man. Rikku's eyes fluttered open and she saw a familiar face. She brought her foot up and kicked her assailant as hard as she could in the elbow. Something popped and she fell to the ground in a heap.

Android 17 glared down at the girl and glared at his now dislocated elbow. He popped it back into place and then turned towards the lavender-haired hero. "So we meet again human. Maybe this time you'll end up like your idiotic friend. Perhaps I'll make you watch her die and then kill you; does that sound better?"

The android reached out for Rikku once more but she dodged his grasp and flipped back. She was unsteady on her swelling ankle and had to use the wall for support. He smirked and began to walk towards her as she stumbled backwards slightly. Just as he reached for her once again he was sent flying into a pile of rubble.

Rikku looked up at the man that was standing protectively over her with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed in anger. He was too busy paying attention to the male android to see the glowing ball racing towards him. "Watch out!" She screamed as she tackled him to the ground.

They both landed with a little "oomph" noise and his arms were wrapped tightly around her shoulders, hugging her body to his. She struggled against him and gave up realizing it was futile. He suddenly jerked them up shoved her behind him. She landed ungracefully on her behind, "Ow," she winced.

The female android now stood in front of them glaring, "You again? Why can't you just die like the others?" She hissed and another ball of light appeared in her hand. She threw it at them but the lavender-haired hero deflected it with his sword.

Rikku blinked, wait a second, where'd he get a sword? She shook her head and watched the fight intently. He took a few good swings at her and managed to slice her arm quite well when he had to dodge another blast. This time it came from the male android, 17. "Hey that's cheating!" She yelled, "Two on one isn't fair!"

17 looked down at her and smirked, "Then let's make it two on two shall we?" He dove after her with the ball of light and tossed it at her.

Rikku ducked the blast and dove behind a wall to try and avoid the crazy fiend. "Me and my big mouth," She muttered.

"C'mon whelp, I thought you wanted a fair fight for your boyfriend?" He taunted her as he looked for her.

She growled in anger and threw a punch to his face as he was flying past. He merely glanced over at her and wiped his hand across his face and smirked. "Is that all you've got? How pathetic, you're even weaker than I imagined."

His last statement really pissed her off and she threw a wild punch that actually knocked him back a step. He blinked at her in surprise before catching her by the throat. 'Not again,' she thought as she struggled to pry his hands off her.

"That was good, I wasn't expecting that; but you've outlived your usefulness. Say goodbye to-"

But whatever it was she was going to say goodbye too she'd never know. A large blade swept through the exact spot where Android 17 had been standing a moment ago. He phased behind the man and before Rikku could warn him the sword had already swung around and caught him in the chest. Although it didn't harm the android that much, it certainly sent him reeling backwards and sparks emitted from the gash on his chest. The woman, 18, appeared beside 17 and knelt beside him. She hauled him up and they disappeared into the air.

After making sure that the two were gone, he sheathed his blade and turned towards her. He walked over to her side and held out a hand to her. Rikku hesitantly took his hand and gave a startled squeak as he hauled her up into his arms. He gave her a disapproving glance before jumping into the air and flying-actually flying!-off.

Rikku's arms clutched tightly about his neck as she looked around them. Her heart beat quickly in her chest as she pressed herself as close to him as possible. The man chuckled at her, "Don't worry, I won't drop you." He held her close to his body.

She wasn't going to take any chances and clung to him and buried her face into his neck. She shivered slightly in the cool air and her eyes began to grow heavy. She fought sleep for a while before succumbing to slumber; her grip on his neck didn't loosen in the slightest though.

(A little while later)

He touched down on the ground and walked towards his home. He carefully maneuvered the door open without dropping her and walked up to the spare bedroom she'd been in a few hours ago. After a moment of letting her lay in his arms he nudged her gently with his cheek, "It's okay, we're on the ground." But she still didn't respond to him so he carefully, cradling her head with his one hand, rolled her in his arms. He blinked and sighed in exasperation; she was sleeping.

He nudged the door open with his foot and walked over to the bed. He carefully pried her fingers from his shoulders and set her down gently. He was about to leave when he felt something sticky on his hands. He walked to the window and used the moonlight to get a better look at what it was. He took in a breath and looked over at her still form; blood was soaking through her spaghetti strap top.

Moving to the side of the bed, he picked her up once again and moved into the bathroom. He set her on the large counter and sighed as he pulled the shirt up to her chest. His eyes went wide with surprise; the skin was singed and bleeding freely. It looked like a ki ball had grazed her stomach. Working quickly, he yanked off the top-not taking time to blush for her state of undress-and began clean the blood away.

She was completely knocked out and he found it hard to wrap her with her lying down. So he had to compromise her modesty and pull her up to lean against his chest. Gently, he wrapped the bandages around her abdomen until she was patched up. He took the torn and bloodied scrap of cloth she'd been wearing and tossed it into the garbage can. He tossed all the other bloody dressings with it and then picked her up once more.

Her head lolled to the side for a moment so he cradled her against his chest and finally had the decency to blush when she pressed her body against his torso seeking warmth. She was set on the bed and he pulled off his own shirt as he left the room.

A moment later he returned with a clean shirt in hand and sat on the bed beside her. He tried to pull the shirt on her once again but failed miserably. A gentle chuckle sounded from the doorway and he turned quickly to see his mother staring at him with a raised eyebrow. "Need some help?" She asked teasingly.

A pink line crossed over his face and heat flushed his face as he nodded. She walked over and helped him to pull the shirt over her head. The woman then put her hand on her son's shoulder, noticing the look on her son's face, "Don't worry Trunks, I'm sure she'll be fine. What happened anyway?"

Trunks sighed and turned to his mother. He led her downstairs and began to explain what happened.

(The next morning) /In Rikku's Point of View\\

A bright light was shining in my eye so I rolled over on the bed and pulled the covers up over my face. Wait; bed?-covers? A few moments later my eyes snapped open and sat up quickly. I glanced around fervently before gasping in pain and falling back to the bed clutching my stomach.

Suddenly the door opened and a blue-haired lady with kind blue eyes walked through with a bowl of a steaming something in her hands. She smiled brightly at me and moved to the side of the bed. I withdrew myself away from her for a moment and she smiled sadly, "Don't worry; I'm not going to hurt you." She paused and waited for me to relax and sighed when I didn't. She pulled the bowl over and showed that it was filled with steaming white rice, "I brought you some lunch; white rice. I don't want you to eat too much and upset your stomach or wounds." She placed the bowl and a set of chopsticks beside it.

I blinked and looked down at the food suspiciously before looking back up at the woman. She seemed genuinely sincere; I picked it up and took a bite so as not to offend her. It tasted bland but felt good entering my stomach so I continued to eat it slowly until I realized just how hungry I was and began to wolf the food down.

The woman blinked at me and laughed which made me pause curiously and blush. "Oh don't worry, my son is ten times worse," She laughed before smiling nicely. "I'm Bulma Briefs; my son's name is Trunks. He's the one who saved you and brought you here." She said kindly while extending her hand to me.

I took it hesitantly and then gave her a weak smile. "Nice to meet you Mrs. Briefs; my name is Rikku Li." My voice was soft and raspy.

Bulma frowned and waved her hand in front of her face, "No, no; just call me Bulma. I haven't been Mrs. Briefs in over a decade." She laughed it off and smiled sadly at Rikku.

"Oh okay Ms.-I mean Bulma." I grinned sheepishly and stretched out on the bed. "Thank you for the food." I handed her the bowl and chopsticks before moving to stand up. I winced in pain and sat back down.

Bulma smiled at me and put a hand on my shoulder. "I think you should rest for now, you reopened your injuries from a few days ago when you ran away last night." She gave me a small smile, "Just lie down for a while and try to get some rest and then you can come down for some dinner if you're up to okay?"

I could see she was trying to be nice and sighed, "All right." I felt kind of bad for running away last night. After what happened with her son-what was his name again?-I think I should just take their hospitality and then think about what I'm going to do when I get well.

(Later on that day)

I yawned and stretched out on the bed. My eyes opened and I stared out the window blearily at the setting sun. My eyes closed once again before I sat bolt upright and blinked in surprise. Suddenly the doorknob turned and I looked over as it opened.

The man from last night walked in as he finished speaking with Bulma. "…I know mom, I just want to check her bandages." He trailed off when he saw me sitting on the bed; the sheets pooling at my thighs.

He walked over instantly and knelt beside me. "Are you feeling any better?" He asked kindly as his hand went to touch my forehead.

I recoiled from him on instinct and winced when I realized what I'd done. He stared at me with pity and I glared at him; I hate it when people pity me! "I'm perfectly fine, thank you." This came out harsher than I had meant it too. I don't know what it was about him that most infuriated me; the way he looked at me with those pitying eyes or that I was so drawn to him. Wait, what? I mentally slapped myself and cursed my own being.

With a sigh he stood and turned to walk away when I finally managed to guilt myself into speaking softly so he wouldn't hear me apologize, "I'm sorry." He turned and looked at me over his shoulder and smiled brightly.

"It's fine; and dinner is ready if you're up to walking." He stood with his body facing the wall so that he could see both me and the exit.

I nodded and made a move to stand before looking down and blushing. I was wearing an overly-large shirt-probably his-that drooped off one of my shoulders and hung over my short shorts which made it look like they weren't there. I shrugged it off and followed him out the door and down the steps.

My wonderful grace-note sarcasm-led me to find the only uneven stair and trip on my way down and successfully crash into the man before me. But instead of landing in a heap at the bottom as I had suspected us to; I found myself wrapped securely in his arms-yet again-and safely at the bottom of the stairs.

It was ridiculous on how many times I wound up being carried by the man in such a short time. It was getting to the point where I was wondering if I'd ever walk by myself again. He didn't set me down until we got into the kitchen and still he saw fit to crack a joke.

"Perhaps you can find someone else to fall into for once." The corner of his lips tugged upwards into a smirk as he pulled out a chair for me to sit in.

I forced myself to swallow a nasty reply and flushed as I looked away. He did have a point in his little jest; I was falling way too much and he was always the one to catch me. I looked up as soon as a plate was set in front of my face. A steaming plate of something I've never eater before sat in front of me and my stomach growled hungrily. The only thing I could make out was fried rice. But I was too hungry to object to anything so I broke my chopsticks and dug into my food.

As soon as the first bite hit my lips I smiled appreciatively at Bulma. "Oh this is good Bulma!" I said happily as I practically inhaled my food. Not eating for a few days wasn't really a good thing and I was definitely feeling ravenous.

Trunks was staring at me as though I'd grown another head or something so I stopped. The last noodle was sucked through my lips and I raised an eyebrow at him in question, "What?"

He blinked and then laughed whole-heartedly at me which made me frown until I realized just what I must look like and I blushed before turning my head away. When he finally calmed down he must have noticed my discomfort because he put his hand behind his head and gave me a sheepish grin, "I guess you must be really hungry."

I nodded at him, "I hadn't eaten for three days before I… well before I left my home and wound up here." I admitted quietly before poking at my food; suddenly I'd lost my appetite and I wanted to disappear into thin air.

Bulma gave me a look of surprise before coming to my side, "Why didn't you eat?" She had a look of concern on her face and I didn't want her to worry about me; or find out about anything either.

With a look of astonishment which turned into shame I put my head back down and continued to slowly eat at my food even though I wasn't hungry anymore. If I ate too much, I'd probably end up throwing up later.

They were both silent and I could tell they were trying to figure out what had happened. But as I looked up I could see Trunks was staring hard at me and it made my skin crawl. I shakily put my chopsticks down and looked down at the plate. I had to figure away to get their attention away from me before they started asking questions. Unfortunately nothing came to mind and I was stuck sitting there in complete silence.

Suddenly a hand touched my shoulder and I jumped from the contact before looking up to see Bulma smiling down at me. "It's okay; you don't have to talk about it. Just get something in your stomach."

Mutely, I nodded at her and then finished the food before taking my plate to the sink. I was already starting to feel sick from eating too much. My date with their toilet had just been secured.

(Around 3 Am)

As planned, I was kneeling over the toilet in the spare bedroom's bathroom emptying my stomach of its contents. I had to hold my own hair back as usual as I heaved once more. A few coughs followed by another round of heaves until I was successfully finished and sat back against the wall. After a few moments of pitying myself I spit the foul taste out of my mouth and flushed the toilet. I walked to the sink and began to rinse my mouth out with water; but the taste still lingered there for much longer than I liked.

The door creaked and heavy footsteps padded on the floor; Trunks, again. I spit the last of the foul taste out of my mouth, gargled with more water, spit it out and then met the prowling man in my room.

He looked very tired and I forced myself not to laugh at his messy lavender hair that was strewn every which way. He looked so cute and cuddly at the moment it made me want to just hug him. Again, what is wrong with me? Is there some malfunction in my brain? I'd seen him wield a sword like an expert and knock my father to the other side of a clearing; suddenly his cuddly cuteness was replaced by suspicion and hesitation. He's hiding something and I can feel it; I've always been quite good at guessing when it came to secrets.

His fist rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he walked over to me, "You okay? It sounded like you were sick or something?"

I blinked, how could he possibly hear that? Even if his room was right next to mine I made sure that I was silent so as not to wake anyone. "Oh no, I'm fine, just tripped in the dark," I lied easily. Why was lying so easy for me? I hated being so good at something so foul and loathsome.

At first he didn't believe me but then he nodded his head sleepily and yawned. I guess he was too tired to argue against me. Suddenly I felt a wave of guiltiness crash over me and I advanced towards him. My hand gently touched his bulky shoulder and I smiled, "Thank you; for saving me and well everything."

He blushed faintly and then half-yawned and half-nodded to me. A lop-sided smile lit his features and I shook my head. I gently pushed him out, "Okay, my turn to sleep. Go back to bed; goodnight," I said before shutting the door in his face.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry if things are confusing or you don't understand the main character clearly. It'll become easier to understand as you proceed through furture chapters.

Again, please review and I am open to constructive criticism and praise. Flames are ignored so feel free to ran and be ignored.

Thank you for reading, I really appreciate it and remember I take requests for one shots. So don't feel shy about asking me.

As always

_Shadowed Replica_


	3. Sometimes You Can't Help Things

**Like Never Before**

Chapter III: Sometimes You Can't Help Things

_By Shadowed Replica_

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**Disclaimer:** I unfortunately do not own Trunks Breifs or any other character in the DBZ series. So I no claim and you no sue!  
I do, however, own Rikku Li and her father who I have not given a name to.

* * *

Oh, it'd probably be best to listen to _I Can't Help Falling In Love With You_ by the **A-teens**.

* * *

_Rikku walked around aimlessly through the deserted streets; she didn't know what time it was or where she was. The buildings around her lay in ruins and an eerie silence hovered over the place constricting any sense of complacency. _

_  
She shivered slightly even though the sun's rays were scorching her skin. She continued to walk forward until something hit the ground in front of her and exploded. She was sent sprawling a few meters away. She jumped to her feet and looked around cautiously; that was no accident, someone was trying to kill her. _

_  
Another explosion, not an arm's length from her, sent her sprawling again. This time she didn't jump right back up and groaned as she blinked to clear her vision. She couldn't see anything out of the ordinary until another explosion threw her through the wall. _

_  
Damn; she was getting really tired of that! She coughed and moved shakily to all fours. She just barely had time to look up when she was grabbed from above and tugged into the air. She screamed in terror and clutched onto her captor's arm as she saw the ground become smaller below her. _

_  
A dark chuckle caught her hearing and she turned to see the face of her captor. She blinked in surprise to see the familiar sharp features and lavender hair that hung around his face. "Trunks," She questioned softly. _

_  
He smirked down at her and pulled her safely into his grasp before firing a beam of light back over his shoulder at an oncoming energy. A cry of pain was heard and a smirk covered his features. She clutched at him desperately and confusedly as she watched his face intently. _

_  
"W-what's going on?" She asked quietly as he zoomed through the sky. She tried not to focus on how fast he was going; flying always made her queasy. _

_  
He chuckled at her and clutched her tightly to his body. She felt so delicious and enticing pressed against him so. He felt so possessive and powerful at the moment; he wanted to dominate her entirely! _

_  
She watched as his tail flick back and forth anxiously; 'since when did he have a tail?' She thought to herself. But she watched it swish to and fro with excitement as his arms tightened convulsively around her thin frame. "Trunks, where are we going?" She tried to interject on his thoughts. When he didn't reply she pressed on, "Answer me Trunks." _

_  
"We're going somewhere safe of course." His voice was dark and sounded much unlike his own. His eyes scared her slightly for they were mere pinpricks and swirled with a strange emotion she couldn't quite place; though it made her skin crawl. _

_  
Suddenly they were tackled from the side and Trunks snarled as he barely managed to keep a hold on her. They plummeted a few meters before he was back on his unknown course. _

_  
Rikku barely managed to look over to the side to see what hit them when Trunks rolled mid-air to dodge another blast of light. She gave a cry of surprise and clutched to him tightly. He put on a burst of speed and left their pursuer behind. _

_  
What seemed like hours later they reached a cave and Trunks landed with a stumble; Rikku really knew something was up now. He set her down and pinned her to a wall. His lips attacked hers fervently and his teeth nipped at her lips gently scraping her mouth with his razor sharp canines. His tail curled around her right thigh and she squirmed beneath him. _

_  
Her lips opened to allow his tongue in and plunder her sweet cavern. She moaned into the kiss as he crushed her body to the rock wall. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck as he grew more possessive in his kiss until it ended abruptly. _

_  
His fists collided with the rock wall behind her and left two tiny craters. He didn't move towards her again but nor did he give any indication that he would release her any time soon. _

_  
She gasped and panted with a flushed face as her fingers dug into his armor. When she was finally able to open her eyes she stared into his glowing blue eyes. A red tint covered the entire eye and gave him a devilish look. He was panting just as hard, if not harder, than she was and it seemed to take all his self control not to ravage her again. _

_  
"Rikku, you have to get away from me. I can't control myself right now," His voice sounded strange and strained. He kissed her lips, gently this time, and then her neck._

Rikku gave a soft moan as she turned to her side in the bed; the sheets were already tangled around her and prevented much movement. Her skin was damp with a thin sheen of sweat coating her body. Her cheek-length bangs clung to her clammy face as she tried to move once again.

Her body was shivering; but not from the cold. Her fingers dug into the pillow and she moved as though a heavy weight were pressing down upon her body. She whispered a name, "Trunks," so softly that even if the Saiyan were lying beside her he would have a hard time hearing.

Suddenly, Rikku sat up straight in the bed and gasped for breath. She looked around as though something or someone were going to jump her and gave a sigh of relief, "Just a dream," She whispered to herself.

"What was?" A masculine voice asked from her doorway. He was clad in only his black boxers and she could tell he'd just gotten up for his hair was in disarray and stuck up at odd ends.

If she didn't just have such a steamy dream involving the man standing only a couple of arm-lengths away from her she would have found the situation comical. Seeing as it wasn't that kind of situation and she did have a steamy dream involving the male, she blushed deeply and swallowed a lump in her throat as she tried to speak, "N-nothing!" On a second thought she added, "What are you doing in here?" She berated herself mentally for sounding so meek and stressed out.

Trunks took her blush for something else and looked down at his self before blushing as well. He gave her the 'one moment' sign and disappeared from the doorway before returning with more clothing on his handsome visage. He now wore a pair of black basketball shorts and a black a-line shirt-more commonly known as a beater-that showed off all his muscles; which still wasn't any better for Rikku's predicament.

"I just came to check on you and make sure you're okay from last night." He said as he walked to the bed and sat down beside her. His hand covered her forehead and he gave her a sympathetic look, "You're still pretty warm and you're completely flushed as well. Maybe you should eat something; you look so thin."

Rikku gave him a blank look and rolled her eyes, "Yeah like eating'll help." She mumbled to herself.

He figured that he wasn't supposed to hear that last comment so he bit his tongue and just gave her a friendly smile, "C'mon, let's get you something to eat. My mom won't be up for a while but I can fix us food." He said a little enthusiastically for Rikku's taste.

She let him pull her from the bed and drag her down the stairs to the kitchen table. As they were walking she got a nice view of his behind and raised an eyebrow. "Good, he doesn't have a tail." She muttered slightly in relief to herself as she stepped over the step that had caused her drama yesterday morning.

Trunks blinked and kept his surprise hidden well. 'How did she know I have a tail?' He wondered to himself as he pulled her into the kitchen. He let her sit down on her own and walked over to the stove. Hopefully he could do this right this time.

He took out eggs, bacon, sausage, bread for toasting, pancake mix, and finally orange juice. He took a glance back at her and grinned sheepishly at her surprise.

"You're seriously gonna eat all of that?" She asked incredulously.

"Well I was hoping you were going to help me." He said; apparently she wasn't paying attention to his eating last night for he had wolfed down seven helpings of his mom's cooking. It made him remember the time when Gohan-no, he couldn't think about his dead best friend right now. He didn't want to be sad so early when he should be happy.

Rikku noticed his change in demeanor and stood to walk over to his side. She gave him a bright smile that would cheer anyone up and began to mix the water and pancake powder together.

He gave her an appreciative smile and pulled out the pans they would need to cook. Trunks found it odd that he didn't feel strange standing there beside Rikku making breakfast; it just felt so right. He shook his head and focused on cooking the bacon and sausages.

She poured the batter onto the pan and did this several times over until she had about three stacks for Trunks and a few for herself and Bulma. She then put some bread in the toaster before moving onto the eggs. She didn't particularly care for eggs in general but she still made some scrambled and over-easy for Trunks.

By the time Bulma came down for breakfast, a delicious smell was wafting through the house. The older woman walked into the kitchen with a yawn and smiled at the two. "Wow, it smells good!" She said while sitting down at the table.

Rikku filled a plate for Bulma and herself before sitting down in a chair. She gave Bulma her food and picked at her own. In truth, she wasn't very hungry at all after her little episode a couple of hours ago.

Trunks sat down across from Rikku next to his mother before digging in to the food. He devoured the pancakes in minutes and gulped down a large glass of orange juice. Sausages and bacon disappeared from the plate quickly and he consumed at least an entire loaf of bread worth of toast.

Rikku sat with her mouth agape as she watched trunks demolish all the food they had cooked for at least an hour in mere minutes. She was quite the comical sight with her forked pancake dangling at her open mouth and her wide-eyed stare while Bulma sat there calmly as though nothing were out of the ordinary.

A light chuckle left Bulma's lips at Rikku's reaction. "You should see him when he's really hungry," She said nonchalantly as she finished her food and cleaned her plate in the sink.

With a loud burp Trunks finished his food and stretched and yawned. "That was great!" He then noticed Rikku's unnerved stare and gave her a sheepish look and a nervous laugh. After the moment of silence on her part he looked down to her plate curiously, "Aren't you hungry Rikku?" He asked whilst pointing to her still full plate, "You've barely touched your food at all; don't you like it?"

She snapped out of it and gave him a half-hearted grin, "Oh I like it; in fact it's delicious. But I'm not that hungry." She said while pushing her plate away from her slightly and giving him a practiced fake smile.

A curious but suspicious look was what she received from Trunks. "What do you mean? You're really, really skinny and look as if you haven't eaten right in months." He said as he stared at her.

Her gaze left his as she looked down at the table and poked at the food before taking a piece of bacon and eating it slowly. Maybe, just maybe, this one time she could keep something down. She really was very hungry but he was right; she hadn't eaten correctly for the past couple years and she already knew she was weak and starved. But she couldn't bring herself to eat because she wasn't used to having a meal three times a day.

Trunks watched her bite into the bacon and slowly eat it. He could tell there was something wrong but he didn't want to push the subject right now. Bulma had talked to him last night after the whole not eating in three days episode. He was starting to get worried about the girl he saved and wondered if he saved her only to let her die. He shook his head free of those thoughts and stood up. "I'll see you later Rikku."

Just as he turned the corner she called out to him, "Where are you going?"

He paused and poked his back around the corner, "I'm going to go and get the part that mom needs for something she's working on from West City." He replied.

"Oh," She paused before asking, "Can I come with you?"

"Uh, well sure, but I'm flying there."

She swallowed the lump in her throat, "T-that's okay." She could deal with flying high above the ground at incredible speeds so long as he didn't drop her.

A smile lit his face, "Okay, I'll meet you back down here in a few minutes okay?"

"Okay," She said as she dumped her food into the garbage and scurried to her room. She turned on the shower and jumped in real quick just to scrub off her body and rinse out her hair. Five minutes later she was out and had a large towel wrapped around her body when she realized she didn't have any clothes. She bit her thumb nervously before walking out of her room and knocking on what she thought was Trunks' door.

"Hold on," came his masculine voice. The door opened to reveal him shirtless with a pair of pants that fit him nicely, "Oh, Rikku!" He blinked at her and blushed as she clutched the towel to her body.

She realized it probably wasn't the best of ideas to come ask him in a towel about clothing. "I don't have any clothes." For a moment he was silent before he laughed. She frowned at him and crossed her arms defiantly, "What's so funny?"

He stopped laughing for a moment before chuckling again, "Nothing, sorry. You can borrow clothes from my mom and we can stop by the mall later to buy you some." He pointed to a room down the hall and watched her walk away towards it.

If she was strong enough to pummel him she would have knocked him on his butt for laughing at her; but seeing as she didn't she was forced to meekly walk down the hall to Bulma's room.

Her petite fist knocked on the door, "Bulma?"

After one knock the door swung open to reveal the smiling, blue-haired woman. She handed Rikku a bundle of clothing and winked, "I heard you guys. Don't worry about your clothing, Trunks will take you by the mall and you can get whatever you want on Capsule Corp." She said with a grin.

"Thank you but I don't want you to spend your money on me." Rikku protested; she hated it when people did things for her. She felt as though she'd owe them a favor if they did this and they'd already done so much for her already.

"Nonsense, just have fun. In a way, you're like the daughter I've never had." Bulma patted Rikku on the shoulder before returning to her room.

Rikku walked slowly back to her room and sighed. Did Bulma really see her as a daughter? It was a kind thing to say and now she felt even more attached to this family than she had her own.

Upon reaching the room she shut the door and then tossed the clothing on the bed. She discarded the towel and pulled on the undergarments first. The bra was a bit big on her but she secured it easily enough. She then pulled on a black shirt with the Capsule Corp. logo on the front. The jeans were a bit too big for her because she was so tiny and she sighed; she really was unhealthy. A belt secured the jeans to her waist and she slipped on some black flats before walking down the stairs to greet Trunks.

Trunks glanced up as Rikku walked down the stairs. She looked much better with clothing that fit her a little better; but she still scared him with how small she was. He gestured for her to follow him outside before waving goodbye to his mom up on the balcony. Then he walked over to Rikku and scooped her up easily and took off in flight.

At first she was startled and let out a little scream of terror when he grabbed her and jumped into the air. When they began to rise she dug her fingers into his large biceps and buried her face into his chest.

"Come on, it's not that bad," Trunks said while trying to get her to relax.

She refused to remove her face from its place and shook her head, "You didn't fall out of a tree house when you were six and fracture your arm." She hissed unpleasantly.

He sighed as they continued to fly. She finally began to relax in his arms and he cradled her close to him as he stopped mid flight and just hovered there.

"What is it?" She asked bringing her head up to look at him. Her fingers still clutched at his arms desperately but she was a bit worried as to why he stopped in the middle of nowhere.

"Nothing, I just wanted you to relax and look around." He said simply. Her eyes narrowed at him and she looked down at the ground and swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat. "Don't worry, I'm not going to drop you; I promise. Don't be so afraid of flying. It actually feels quite nice if you take the time to enjoy it." He lets his fingers gently massage the spots he could reach to try and relax her.

"I'm not afraid of flying," She snapped uneasily, "I'm afraid you'll drop me and I'll splatter all over the ground!" She hissed testily as she glanced around her. She wasn't looking at him and her fear of heights was beginning to choke her.

"Even if there was some possibility of me dropping you I'd catch you way before you even came close to hitting the ground." He said matter-of-factly.

She scoffed at him, "I'm not taking any chances."

With that Trunks sighed and continued flying, "You should at least try to relax." He muttered while hugging her closer to his body.

(About an hour later)

Trunks landed on the ground just outside of West City and looked down at a sleeping Rikku. He smiled at her; she'd fallen asleep moments after they argued about her 'nonexistent' fear of heights. He needed to get the part for mom but he wasn't sure if he should carry her into the city or not. He really didn't want to wake her from her sleep; she looked so peaceful at the moment.

So he decided just to carry her to the parts shop and wake her up then. He caused quite the scene with his decision to carry Rikku into the city. She was all curled up in his arms and he glared at any guy that gave her a less than innocent look. Holding Rikku was also earning him quite the many stares from women-both young and old-as he walked past them. He ignored them and found an irritable twitch had formed in his right eye.

They finally reached the parts store in the middle of the town and Trunks found himself wishing that he'd never let Rikku come in the first place. He'd never wanted to rip through so many men in his entire lifetime.

He remained cool as ice as he walked through the building with Rikku still grasped firmly in his arms. He approached the desk and the woman smiled flirtatiously with him until she glanced down at Rikku. She blinked in surprise and he smirked at her before asking where Dr. Hotoki's office was. The blond receptionist sighed and told him a room number that he quickly made his way to.

"Ah, Trunks, here to pick up your mother's part I assume?" The old man greeted with a kind smile. He then peered at Rikku sleeping in his arms, "And who might this sleeping beauty be?" He inquired.

Trunks cleared his throat, "The part Dr. Hotoki?" He was sure it wasn't a good idea to bring Rikku with him. He knew the Dr. didn't pose a threat and was a nice man but he suddenly felt so protective.

The Dr. gave him a curious stare before nodding and leading Trunks over to a rather large piece of steel that looked like an engine. Trunks set Rikku gently down on a table and she stirred slightly as she began to wake up. He moved over to the part and examined it before pulling out a tiny capsule and pressing a button before throwing it at the engine. The engine disappeared in a puff of smoke and he picked up the capsule.

"Wow, I guess that's why it's called Capsule Corp. huh?" Rikku's voice inquired from behind them.

They both turned and glanced at her. She smiled and waved to the Dr., "Hello, I'm Rikku." She was grinning awkwardly and seemed to be a bit uneasy.

"Why hello Miss Rikku, I am Dr. Hotoki." He said while walking over and shaking her hand with a large smile. He looked back to Trunks and winked, "She's quite the catch Trunks. It must be nice to be young and in love." He said this all dreamily.

Rikku coughed and shook her head while she and Trunks both replied with a blush, "Oh no! We're not-"

"Oh come now, don't be so embarrassed. It's good that you two have each other in such hard times. Just make sure you don't waste your time eh?" He implied with a raise of his eyebrows before ushering them out the door. "Now, I'm very busy and I'm sure your mother would like to finish tinkering with her device so off you go. See you later Trunks; have a good day Miss Rikku."

When the door slammed behind them Rikku blinked, "What just happened?"

Trunks blinked in surprise before shrugging and running a hand through his lavender hair, "I don't know and I don't wanna know, let's just get out of here before he says something else." He gave her smirk and gestured for her to follow.

They walked out past the receptionist and she waved goodbye. Trunks ignored her and they walked outside as he placed the capsule in his pocket before turning to Rikku. "So are you ready to go shopping?"

Rikku glanced at him and smiled with a nod. "Yeah, let's go."

(At the mall)

//In Trunks' Point of View\\

I pulled Rikku to the third floor where all the nice designer clothing was. Her eyes sparkled with glee and I pulled out the Capsule Corp. credit card mom gave me, "Get whatever you want."

She gave me an incredulous look before staring at an American apparel store. She darted into the store with me in tow; it was called American Eagle. She looked around and picked out a few things to try on. She modeled a couple of outfits for me and I nodded in approval.

The clothes fit her nicely and she got jeans that were a bit big on her; I guess she planned on growing healthier. The first outfit she tried on was a striped green and lime green polo that unbuttoned all the way down to her chest with a white spaghetti strap shirt on. It fit her nicely and those jeans looked very, very good on her.

I don't know how long we were in there but I got her at least four bags full of clothing. We then headed off to a store called Hollister and we walked out with three more bags. One store I did not want to go in was Victoria's Secret. I blushed as I stood beside Rikku and tried to keep my gaze on anything but all the bras and panties. Finally I told Rikku I would wait on the other side where all the perfumes and things were.

Glad to get away from all the lingerie, I leaned against the wall and fingered the capsule that held all of Rikku's bags. She was so amazed that almost anything could be stored within them. It was fun to explain how it worked even though I don't think she understood a word I said.

"Hello," a feminine voice spoke, "May I help you?" She gave me a flirtatious smile and stood within and arm's length of me.

I swear, sometimes I hate being male, couldn't she see that I wasn't interested in anyone but Wait, what am I saying? I can't seriously be that attached to her already could I? I mean yeah, she's very beautiful and funny and she can cook great. But that's all I really know about her. "Uh, actually I'm just waiting for my friend on the other side," I said as I gestured at Rikku with a blush. She was holding up a very lacy, very sexy bra. My throat constricted.

The lady looked over and I could see the slightest of frowns appear on her lips, "Oh; is she your girlfriend?" She inquired with renewed interest.

With a sigh I shook my head, "No, she's not. Just a friend," I said somewhat dejectedly. The girl seemed to get the picture and smiled at me before walking over to Rikku. I watched them speak and Rikku nodded happily to the woman before following her.

After what seemed like hours, I was finally able to pay for everything and we could leave! Rikku seemed to be excited and continued to stare in awe at the capsule I'd let her hold that carried all her things. "You hungry," I asked while looking down at her.

She nodded to me and I directed her to a burger stand. "Get what you want," I said while handing over the credit card. I must have spent over a thousand dollars today with Rikku. But at least she was happy; and strangely, that made me happy.

We sat there munching on our food until we were finished; well it was more like I devoured my three cheeseburgers, four hot dogs, and two malts while she sat there and poked at her food delicately. She'd barely eaten a quarter of the cheeseburger and her fries were untouched. The malt was still three-quarters full and I was starting to get a little worried about her.

I couldn't wait anymore; mom was wrong. Something was wrong; something had happened to Rikku and I couldn't stand it anymore. "Rikku," I called her name to get her attention.

"Hm?" She looked up at me with questioning eyes that sparkled in the daylight.

We were so close together I suddenly realized. Why had I chosen to sit next to her in the first place? I can't remember, the only thing I can think about it her. She's so close and she's so perfect.

Before I knew what was happening my lips ascended upon hers as my hand tangled in her silky multi-colored hair. She didn't respond so I pulled away quickly thinking I'd over-stepped my boundaries with her; I mean we'd only known each other a couple days right?

But before I could mumble a lame excuse she spoke; her eyes still closed, "Again."

At first I didn't think I heard her right, "Huh?"

Her eyes snapped open and her eyes glowed like molten silver, "Again," she demanded as her arms snaked around my neck.

I didn't dare deny her as my lips crashed down on hers and my arms wrapped around her tiny body. At first it was gentle but she crushed her lips to mine and I smirked against her. My tongue licked across her bottom lip and she opened her mouth instantly. I plundered her mouth and quickly memorized every crevice. She whimpered against me and I thought I hurt her so I quickly released her and looked down at her.

"Trunks," she whimpered once more. Her face was flushed and her eyes were dazed and her lips were plump and bruised from my own. "Don't stop," she commanded me.

I would have given in to her demand instantly if I hadn't remembered we were in a public place and I could hear giggling to the left of me. A bunch of girls were whispering and giggling at us and I gave them a blank look before throwing away the rest of our food.

By the hand I pulled her away and out of the city limits to the edge of a cliff that looked down over a large lake. We sat down and she blushed prettily as she tried to stare at anything but me.

"Rikku," I said trying to get her attention. She didn't look at me. "Rikku look at me."

After a moment, she looked up at me; her face was scarlet and I imagined mine must be too. On the way I had bought a small plastic box of strawberries; she was going to eat something. I pulled a strawberry out and bit into it slowly. She watched me intently; good I had her attention.

My hand entangled in her hair again and my lips met hers in a brief kiss. The fire returned to her eyes and I smirked as her tongue licked the juices from my strawberry off her lips. I put the strawberry to her own and she hesitantly opened her mouth; confusion was in her eyes.

As soon as the sweetness touched her tongue she took a bite and chewed it quickly before swallowing. Again I pressed the fruit to her mouth and she ate it. Our lips met again but I didn't linger longer than a moment before replacing them with another berry.

The container was half-way gone when she was finally eating them on her own. She took another strawberry and stared at it for a moment before a smirk crossed her delicate features. She grabbed my collar and pulled me in for a kiss. Apparently she had taken a bite of a strawberry for when our mouths opened she forced a half a strawberry into my mouth and I almost choked before pulling back.

She laughed at me and I pinned her down. "What's the matter, can't chew your food right?" She teased me as she reached for another strawberry. She bit into it slowly and juice dribbled down her chin slowly to her neck. She wiped off most of it but didn't think to remove the sticky substance from her neck; so I did it for her.

A quick kiss on the mouth deterred her from my plan. My lips moved down in slow kisses to her neck before I swiped at the fluid with my tongue. She let out an interesting sound that sounded almost like a moan. This time my teeth nibbled and she extended her head back and opened her throat to me. I stared at the offering before giving her neck another tender swipe and kissing the spot.

Rikku bit her lip to keep the sound in and I stopped to look up at her. With a quick peck to her lips I whispered, "Don't," before continuing my assault on her neck. She shivered and began to let out little whimpering sounds and finally a long drawn out moan when I nipped and suckled on the spot. With another smirk I moved to kiss her again but a rain drop hit me square in the eye. I blinked and looked up at the sound of thunder.

"Damn," I hissed before looking down at Rikku. She was panting; slowly coming out of her reverie and leaned up on her elbows. "We should probably get going before we get soaked." I said reluctantly; there is no way I wanted to leave this damn spot at all. But I couldn't let Rikku get sick with her weak immune system.

She laughed lightly and nodded. I pulled her up and into my arms bridal style. She grabbed the rest of the strawberries and we took off. On the way home I was fed quite a few of the strawberries that tasted even sweeter from her mouth. It was a good thing that she was paying more attention to my mouth than to the world around her or else she might have caught my tail twitching back and forth behind me. It was just hard to hide it when I was so excited.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll start working on the next one. But with college starting for me (and giving me a problem) I will most likely be in and out as I have over the last year.

Sorry everyone!!

Please Review, cause I love to read your comments (good or bad). If you have an idea or something, don't hesitate to share.

Again thank you and I'll try to update ASAP!

Ja ne,

_Shadowed Replica_


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